US election: Mitt Romney scrambles to find school friends who say he was not a bully

Mitt Romney has dispatched one of his brothers to find school friends willing to testify that he was not a bully, as he scrambles to limit the damage to his campaign from allegations that he attacked a fellow pupil.

Mitt Romney's campaign have sent out former school friends to his defencePhoto: AP

Scott Romney, a 70-year-old lawyer, telephoned around contemporaries of the presumed Republican presidential nominee in an attempt to find witnesses to his character at Cranbrook, a Michigan private school, in the 1960s.

In a statement released by the Romney campaign, one classmate, John French, said: "Mitt never had a malicious bone in his body – trying to imply or characterise him as a bully is absurd."

However it is alleged that in 1965, when he was 18, Mr Romney rugby tackled John Lauber, a fellow pupil who was presumed to be homosexual, and chopped off the bleached fringe he wore over one eye.

One fellow pupil compared the incident to "Lord of the Flies" and claimed that Mr Romney, now 65, led a group who acted like "a pack of dogs" who were "bullying supreme".

The former Massachusetts governor said he could not recall the incident, but apologised for any "stupid" pranks. However he insisted that Mr Lauber's sexuality was never an issue.

Philip Maxwell, one of five classmates who recounted the incident to the Washington Post, said it was "difficult to believe" Mr Romney did not remember what happened.

"It's unfortunate that Mitt simply hasn't owned up to his behaviour," he told CNN.

The disclosure cast the Republican challenger in an unfavourable light just a day after President Barack Obama said that he supported same-sex marriage.

Mr Lauber died of liver cancer in 2004. His family reacted angrily to his central role in a political row. "If he were still alive today, he would be furious," his older sister Christine told an interviewer.

Mr Romney had some reason to be cheerful on Friday however, as a new poll by Rasmussen found that he was up 50 per cent to 43 per cent on Mr Obama in a survey of likely voters. The result was the first time he has hit 50 per cent in the daily poll.

Another sister, Betsy, said: "We are aggrieved that he would be used to further a political agenda".

Mr Romney will on Saturday attempt to shift focus to his support for traditional American families, in a speech to students graduating from the ultraconservative Liberty University in Virginia – further distancing himself from Mr Obama's liberal pronouncements this week.

"I have never once regretted missing any experience or opportunity in business in order to be with my wife and five sons," the grandfather of 18 is expected to say. "Regrets usually come the other way around, from missing moments with your children that don't come again."